The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1887-07-27

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as '"Bashaw with three tails" Come
forward, ye agricultural geniuses, whose
pens have ilumined the Farmers cor.
ner" of our great weekly, and give me
the right hand Of, fellowship, while the
choir, led by Josiah Plain, sings
prophetic and mysterious truths,
never could, unfold em.
Without aagon Of good vino
And slice of old ham,"
Now to business, for space in the Agri.
cultural Departmental tbasweekly Ne'qgs Y
and C0asisr, like that & Columbia, i
valuable, ind there is no room for trash
or ignorant pretence. So leave off your
nonsense, oh, "dear Capt. Tillman," aud
tell US what you know about touring
hams"
There: is absolutely NOS difficulty Or
mystery iabonf.it: lThesfrouble is9to get
the hams to cure, aud feel that I can
really give some valuable hints on hog
raising, as after paying II cents for bacon
in 1882, I began zealously to- study how
to raise my own meat, and have been SO
successful that I can and have grown the
hogs cheaper than 1 could buy them,
even at the low prices of recent years.
The celebrated DR.. Kitchner, the first
original cookbook maker, in giving
recipe for baking hare, wrote: "First,
catch your hare" and think the far
mers of South Carolina will be better
pleased if I tell them how to "catch"
their hams than how to "cure" them. /
will condenss as much as possible, but
the space you can spare will not permit
as full treatment of the subject as it de.
serves.
ga pig we'll started is hog half.
made," and cheap meat cannot bo grown
from stunted or ill-bred pigs. The
requisites for good "start" are thor
oughbred boar-Berkshire or Essex at
the South-a vigorous SOW not under
eighteen months old, and a good mixer,
plenty of suitable food for the SOW to
turn into milk until the pigs are eight
weeks old, and all the soaked or ground
oats, rye, peas, wheat or barley they will
eat until weaned. Commence to feed the
pigs in a trough TO themselves at three
weeks of age, aud continuing after wean.
ing at least month. Milk is a most
valuable food for young pigs, but our
people are generally too glad to "catch"
little milk for themselves to spare any
for pigs. Corn is unsuited for young
growing animals of any kind, and is the
most costly hog.food we can raise. A
mixture Of wheat bran, pea and corn
meal, or of peas and oats, and corn
ground together is good for the SOW,
while sucking, but my hogs never get
any corn, unless they steal it, until a
couple of weeks before killing time. Pigs
should be dropped in October or March.
If they come in winter they are liable to
be frozen at birth, and in summer they
do not seem to do we'll. have found
that the progeny of large common or
grade SOW and thoroughbred boar do
better than thoroughbred pigs. They
will stand neglect better and have more
"come out" than the pure hogs should
growth at any time be checked by lack
OF food. In fact, thoroughbred once
stunted never gets over it, while the
grades do and still make fine hogs. But
any neglect should be after the pig is
weaned and not before.
There is as much difference in sows as
milk producers as there is in COWS, and
only those sows should be kept which
will take better care of their pigs than of
themselves. But no SOW can make milk
on air, and the successful hog raiser
must feed her literally while sucking.
Soaking grain is equivalent to cooking or
grinding it, or at least it has been so
considered by good feeders. At weaning
time the sow's food should be lessened
and one or two of the small pigs left for
day or two to.prevent injury. If more
than one SOW is kept all should have pigs
as nearly together as possible, and each
kept separate until the pigs learn which
is their own mother. Care must be-
taken to prevent the older pigs robbing
the weak or young ones, as they will
surely try to do if they run together.
Sows sometimes eat their pigs. This is
caused by feverish condition, the
result of constipation or the lack of
water. Feeding on relaxing and cooling
diet few days before paturition is the
preventive-sweet potatoes, boiled tur-
nips, beets, collard leaves, wheat bran
slops, or grazing on barley, rye or burr
clover.
But | must hasten on. The pigs
started, how shall we keep them going?